Announcing the 2024 Jack Straw Writers

This year's Writers Program Curator, Nisi Shawl, has selected the 2024 Jack Straw Writers! We're thrilled to welcome our new writing fellows: Amontaine Aurore, E.J. Batiste, Catherine DeNardo, Josh Griffin, Becca Rose Hall, Elyse Hauser, Stacy Nathaniel Jackson, Allison Masangkay, Gabriel Moseley, Mary Pan, McKenna Princing, and Jarrett Ziemer

Our writing fellows will be hard at work for the next few months writing and training at Jack Straw. Join us on the first three Fridays in May for their public debut as Jack Straw Writers!

Jack Straw New Media Gallery

Jeff Rice - Pando Suite

January 19-March 8, 2024

Call 206-634-0919 or email [email protected] to schedule a visit

Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE

Friday, January 19, 7pm: Opening Reception

In person at Jack Straw Cultural Center

Pando Suite is a series of audio works exploring the hidden and interconnected sounds of the Pando aspen grove in south-central Utah. Known as the "trembling giant," Pando is one of the world’s largest organisms, consisting of a sprawling forest of genetically identical trees, or "stems."

Artist Support Program

The Star Gondola and Dead Quiet

Friday, January 26, 7:30pm

In person and streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE

FREE

Join us as Jack Straw artist Mario Layne Fabrizio and his band The Star Gondola kick off a monthly series of events at Jack Straw, coinciding with the production of their debut album through the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.

The Star Gondola includes Julian Weisman (bass, vocals), Carlos Snaider (guitars, vocals, synths) and Mario (drums, vocals, synths). Joining the bill is Dead Quiet, a solo project of saxophonist Victory Nguyen of Seattle bands High Pulp and Sunking.

Summit Sound at the Seattle Convention Center

We're thrilled to announce Summit Sound, an audio gallery at the new Seattle Convention Center Summit Building on Pine St. Summit Sound was envisioned by the SCC Art Program as "an outdoor space where residents and visitors can immerse themselves in one of our region’s revered creative disciplines–sound."

Selected sounds for the initial launch of Summit Sound include music of many genres and spoken works produced through Jack Straw’s Artist Support Program; indigenous songs and stories from regional culture bearers; and poetry from fellows in the Jack Straw Writers Program as well as students at Denny International Middle School.

Stop by and immerse yourself in these sounds, songs, and voices seven days a week, from 7am to 11pm – or listen any time – and find the full list of artists included on Jack Straw's website.

Jack Straw Writers and Bushwick Book Club Seattle

Jack Straw and the Bushwick Book Club Seattle are once again teaming up to create new music inspired by the work of the Jack Straw Writers!

The Bushwick Book Club and Jack Straw will share a new video every couple weeks featuring a reading and song. Follow along on YouTube or social media!

September 27: Garfield Hillson and Townsend's Solitaire

October 11: Geri Gale and Shelby Natasha

October25: David K. Rea and Kate Olson

November 15: Hana Choi and Intisaar

December 6: Stephen Reed Griggs and Shaun Crawford

December 20: Sumu Tasib and Levi Fuller

January 3: Carla Shafer and Brittany Allyson

Join us on Social Media!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to get regular doses of writing, art, and music from Jack Straw artists of all ages.

We recently shared this story by Kimball Elementary student Tess, telling us how her family rings in the new year:

"My name is Tess and I like celebrating New Year's! My mom goes shopping a few days before New Year’s. My mom usually goes to a Japanese grocery store. My grandmother sends some special ingredients that we cannot get here, from Japan. . . ."

Jack Straw Podcasts

Jack Straw Artist of the Week

The current installment of our Artist of the Week podcast is from Helen Lessick’s 1994 Jack Straw Artist Support Program project, a 2-channel audio sculpture titled Dreams, Deception and Skepticism.

Listen at jackstraw.org, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts. 

SoundPages, the Jack Straw Writers Program Podcast

The 2023 Jack Straw Writers SoundPages series continues with a conversation between Hana Choi and 2023 Writers Program Curator Priscilla Long, and a recording of Hana's live reading at Jack Straw.

Listen at jackstraw.org, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts.

Jack Straw New Media Gallery Podcast

Zack Bent talks with Jack Straw producer Carlos Nieto about his Jack Straw New Media Gallery installation The Charity Stripe.

Listen at jackstraw.org, or subscribe via Apple Podcasts.